this is not PKU related, but it is apart of my life and i wanted to share it with my friends.

On June 1st our beloved chocolate Labrador Retriever Copper ingested anti freeze and our world was thrown upside down . Everyone knows antifreeze kills . It only takes a tablespoon to kill a dog and a teaspoon to kill a cat. Copper had gotten into a shed in our back yard and found a jug of antifreeze in a rubber maid tote under some shelves and car Jacks. Luckily my husband Cole Rickett was outside mowing our lawn. When cole came into the back yard he spotted the car Jacks on the lawn and a jug of anti freeze with tooth punctures spilling into the lawn. Copper was sitting on the deck licking his lips. Cole immediately called for me and I got on the phone with the vet within seconds. The tech who answered the phone told us to get a turkey baster and put 1/4 cup straight vodka down his throat and as safely snd quickly as possible to bring him in immediately. Not being drinkers I didn’t think we had any vodka. Luckily we had an unopened bottle we received as a gift last year.

We took copper into the vet by 11 am on Monday June 1st where they induced vomiting ? Administered charcoal and started an iv of vodka . Copper had ingested above lethal dose. For the next 5 days copper fought hard for his life . We visited him every day. Our hearts so heavy ..this is our baby . Riverside worked as hard as they could and kept our fur baby drunk. He was on a iv of vodka and one for fluids. He had a catheter in and a cone on his head.

The vodka binds to the toxins and keeps the enzyme busy so the toxin cannot crystallize. The crystals are what kills. They block the kidneys and are fatal.

The vet told us we could loose him. His levels where to high and coming down to slowly.

60 hours later copper was still beating all the odds. Noone had ever seen a vase like his. His levels were still not moving down fast enough.

The vet posted coppers story online to toxicity doctors around the world. We where all worried the vodka was creating false positives.

The feedback the vet received was that after 64 hours copper should be clear. That the test was unreliable. To try another. So we did and it was still positive. But it was down!

72 hours post ingestion his levels where 13. The vet said to give it another 24 hours before he felt it was safe.

This nightmare we where living was almost over . It has been so hard to see him appering to do well only to be told everyone his levels where still high.

June 5th 2015 copper beat all the odds . He was producing urine , his kidney function was great. No crystals. He was peeing and pooping and ready to come home.

Our puppy , our baby survived. Copper came home June 5th at noon. A full recovery is expected.

I am sharing our story to create awareness for antifreeze toxicity and what to do if your fur baby ingest some. Please share our story .

We have set up a go fund me account to help pay off coppers medical expenses. The bill came to $2000.00 and worth every penny. Because cole was in a car accident february 15tb (hit by a drunk driver and has been off work since with a broken hand ) every lille bit helps . If you are interested in donating please pm me for the link. And we thank you in advance.

Thank you to enjoy everyone who has supported us through this. Special thanks to riverside animal hospital and pet land kamloops.

http://www.gofundme.com/w5n7qn8